Messages - Barbaar

He mentions metal in an essay called 'The Decline of Musical Culture'. He rejects metal for its aesthetics, including the 'anti-harmonic' power chord, then goes on to prove this 'ugly' music is also morally objectionable by quoting Nirvana lyrics.

However, this is an understandable slipup by an otherwise very interesting thinker. Like other cultural-conservatives, it's mostly common sense you'll hear him say. I suspect that in his writings, he constantly feels the need for abstract frameworks of 'logic' to subject his otherwise clear intuitions to, in order to make it count as 'philosophy'.

Already more than familiar with the intricate and twisted music you mention, I've re-listened all the quartets. It's mostly that I find the G.F. hard to digest in itself, and that I adore the individual movements of opp. 130 & 132 but fail to get the big picture. G.F. was supposed to be the finale to 130, but it feels an era of musical development is missing between them. My cd lists it as the finale of 130, with the later finale following it. Kind of absurd.

The acting out of this 'Wild Hunt', or a similar march of the dead, was a common tradition in Indo-European communities. Traces of it can be found in current day celebrations, most prominently in remote regions of the Germanic countries.

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Perchten are associated with midwinter and the embodiment of fate and the souls of the dead.

Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly in the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and whips and bells.

-Anticipating winter solstice-Young men masquerading as the deceased/demonic-Wreaking havoc at night, making a lot of noise, frightening the citizens-disciplinary action towards the bad/immoral

The Germanic männerbunde's rites of initiation should be well documented by serious historians, and I'll post here if I find out more.

I think the metal facepaint relates to primitive masque-cults like those mentioned above, where the wearer of the mask was supposed to become or get possessed by the deity/demon/whatever the mask depicted. Not as an atavism per se, but instrumentally. It's a device for inner transformation, to de-humanize, to unlock inhuman powers, to contact the gods, etc.

Not sure if this is common knowledge here or anywhere, but there are some old traditions in Indo-European culture that that uncannily resemble certain traits of metal culture.

In some Germanic communities, the tradition of representing the Wild Hunt at winter solstice had black-clad young men, face-painted to resemble the dead warriors, run amok through their villages at solstice night- screaming like beasts, punishing those who misbehaved that year.

Another aspect of the rites of passage for males was that, at certain age, boys would be 'abducted' from their homes to live in the woods in feral conditions for some time, as they were prepared to re-enter society as responsible men. I don't remember the exact sources for this, but one author even mentioned the young men weren't allowed to cut their hair during this period.

If someone can point me to relevant studies in English I'd be much obliged.

Atomised is one of the most important books of our time. Platform and the other novels are very powerful as well, but they serve mostly to expand on the ideas put forth in Atomised. However, his last novel 'The Map and the Territory' tends to deviate into mere satire.

I would probably listen to far more music than I do, if I hadn't realized that the rhythms inherent to music tend to turn me into a witless, bopping, automaton. There used to be a finger-snapping-in-time-to-the-music craze when I was young. Even then I considered it idiotic. Still, there is music worth listening to, but as with anything, it helps to not turn it into an addiction.

You seem to describe a rather primal reaction to rather primitive music. I never found myself foot-tapping to Haydn. Nor does that music engender any loss of consciousness in me.

I gathered you don't listen to metal much. What music is worth listening for you?

Many 'heavy' labels are major label subsidiaries. Not-so-fun fact: the 'rights' on most Beherit releases are owned by Universal Music. Same goes for the entire Deutsche Grammophon catalogue. They'll want your head on a plate if you upload that music, even if all performers are long dead. Although Spinefarm and DG are 'independent' sublabels, they probably have the same anti-piracy forces working for them as Rihanna...